The reverse-race card
Zille: The race to the bottom
Helen Zille has tried to position herself as a martyr for free speech on social media. Instead she seems to have become a rallying point for the ‘alt-white’ – and a caricature of the liberalism she claims to espouse
There’s an argument to be made that the DA’s Helen Zille is a greater threat to our democracy than EFF leader Julius Malema. He, at least, is upfront about his prejudices, and doesn’t cloak them in the guise of "centre-left-leaning" philosophy. And while Malema is presiding over the conscious marginalisation of the EFF into a populist party, Zille is blithely devolving what used to be a fairly credible opposition party into a foil for the stunted ideologies of the edgelords of the reactionary right.
It’s irksome to waste column inches on Zille, especially as this means we’re giving those alt-right remoras that feed off the scraps of the faecal ideas she scatters on Twitter the amplification they desire. And this is the sad truth of her conversion from grande dame of politics to gimcrack martyr — she’s been red-pilled by the alt-right lite of SA, and she doesn’t even know it. (For those not up on the terminology, red-pilling — derived from the film The Matrix — is the term used...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.